


The Tie

by RedMango



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Ties, Who even knows, can't we just have nice things, for now anyway, why do I keep doing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedMango/pseuds/RedMango
Summary: Barba wears ties. Liv likes the ties. That's pretty much the fic.
Relationships: Rafael Barba & Olivia Benson, Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have a bunch of ficlets sitting on my computer. I haven't really touched the earlier parts of this one in ages, so I figured I could start posting and see how it goes. I have a few more chapters written, but am not totally sold on how far down the line I'm ready to go yet.

“I bet you’ve used those ties around more than just your neck Barba.” Carisi joked, a stupid looking grin crossing his face. Barba smirked, slightly perturbed, but said nothing.

He looked around the table at the three other adults, gauging their reactions. He found that they ranged wildly. Rollins was laughing heartily. Fin let out one quick guffaw, before his face returned to its usual, unreadable state. Benson’s facial expression was vague, but there was definitely a hint of redness on her cheeks, and Barba didn’t miss the quick glance she gave to his neck, followed by a deeper blush. 

He had been at the bar with the SVU squad for the better part of 3 hours, and had watched Carisi’s few social boundaries fall away. Barba sighed, knowing that Carisi would never have dared make such a comment without the fortifying effects of alcohol, and decided to let it go.

He stood. “While I’d love to continue this discussion about my sex life with all of you,” Barba started, drily, “I have an early grand jury tomorrow morning.” He looked pointedly at Carisi and Rollins, “Some of you are on the docket, and I need you to be your best. So please, don’t do anything stupid that’s going to compromise your ability to testify tomorrow.”

Carisi put on an innocent expression before responding “Don’t worry counselor, we know what to do. We got this.”

Somehow, Barba was less than comforted by that statement. 

He didn’t have the time or energy to dive into it at that time of the night. So he sighed, deposited enough cash on the table to cover his tab and a generous tip, took his jacket from the hook he had placed it on earlier in the evening, and swept out of the bar.

************

Olivia was secretly relieved when Barba left. When Carisi jokingly mentioned the other uses for Barba’s ties, she felt her eyes widen unintentionally, and dropped her gaze to his neck. 

Today’s tie was gray with light pink diagonal stripes. 

She felt her face flush slightly, but she had enough sense not to stare, and immediately looked down at her drink. 

She couldn’t help but recall the few times (okay, the many times), she hadn’t been able to stop herself from imagining using any one of his colorful ties for… less than professional reasons. The fantasies ranged from things as simple and innocent as smoothing out a wrinkle or correcting the angle of the knot below his adam’s apple, to using it as leverage to pull him to her to kiss him, and if she was truly honest… to being used to… but no, she couldn’t indulge in those fantasies right now. Not with her squad sitting around the table with her. That was the trouble with having friends that were all trained investigators; it was a lot more difficult to hide from them what was going on in her head. 

So she shoved those thoughts away. 

She did, however, allow herself to check out his ass as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Rafael arrived home, feeling somewhat unsettled. He wasn’t entirely sure why. It was true that he had important testimony with the grand jury tomorrow, and he did need Rollins and Carisi to be at their best. That, however, wasn’t unusual. Despite his comments, he knew they would be fine at the courthouse in the morning, so it didn’t explain why he felt so… off. 

He placed his briefcase on the coffee table, knowing he still had work to do that evening. He continued to the kitchen counter where he kept his bar tray. It contained a bottle of Macallan, two tumblers, ice tongs, and a cocktail shaker. He looked at the cocktail shaker and huffed. The only things that he ever touched were the liquor bottle and the glasses. He took the bottle in one hand, a glass in the other, and poured himself a larger whiskey than he probably should. He turned and leaned against the counter, lost in thought.

As they had several times during his commute home, Barba’s thoughts returned to Carisi’s comment about his tie. He had definitely seen Liv’s eyes drop to his neck, and he was reasonably certain she had blushed immediately afterwards. Using ties during the implied romantic or sexual encounters wasn’t a particularly unusual practice, as far as he was concerned. In fact, he’d be willing to bet that every person at that table had at least dabbled with restraints or blindfolds in the bedroom. Hell, they were all cops. They had probably experimented with their handcuffs too. So again, why would that make Olivia blush?

After pondering for a moment or two longer, he decided he wasn’t going to come up with any satisfactory answers. Barba took a large swig of his scotch, walked over to the couch, sat down, and opened his briefcase. He had work to do. 

*****

After Barba left, talk had moved on from his ties and their (ahem) alternative uses, on to other, more appropriate topics of discussion for her to have with her direct reports. For the most part, they traded stories about themselves. Rollins talked about Frannie, Carisi about his big, loud, very Italian family, and Fin about his son. Whenever the conversation turned to Olivia, she did her best to provide a quick anecdote, and steer it back towards her detectives. It was a skill she had developed extremely well over years of interrogating suspects, questioning witnesses, and generally wanting to avoid talking about her personal life. She hoped Rollins, Carisi, and Fin were relaxed enough that they didn’t notice.

She had spent the time with her detectives trying to hide how shaky she felt and keep herself from saying something she’d later regret. She drank her wine a little faster than usual, and probably had one glass too many. She wasn’t drunk, but could feel the alcohol’s effect on her system. She knew her cheeks would be a slightly pink, as they always were when she had a few drinks. She also knew she tended to smile more, and share a little more after a few glasses of wine. She wasn’t afraid that she’d say something completely inappropriate, just… maybe a little more revealing than was her current inclination. That’s why she knew it was time to leave. 

“Alright guys, I’m calling it. Goodnight. See you all tomorrow.” Olivia picked her coat up from the back of the chair she had been sitting in, grabbed her purse up off the arm of her chair, and headed towards the door.

As she walked home, she couldn’t help but think about how much she liked that gray and pink tie.


End file.
